EXARC Journal (Feb 2020)
Book Review: Mittelsteinzeit, ein Leben im Paradies? by Werner Pfeifer
Abstract
Considering actual studies about the analysis of ancient DNA is an important question, if only the lifestyle or the population, too, changed when hunter-gatherers became farmers and stockbreeders. The results point so far towards the latter possibility. However, the foragers of the Northern European Ertebølle culture preserved their lifestyle for one millennium, even though they lived in neighboring areas with the Neolithic societies. It is debatable if the Mesolithic lifestyle and an environment with plentiful natural food resources made it unnecessary for the bearers of the Ertebølle culture to change their ways. In fact, only very little is known about this Mesolithic lifestyle, and the stone artefacts along with a few organic remains, which are naturally preserved, are the sole providers of clues.
